Happy Monday YLF! I scream, you scream, we all scream for ice cream! Life is too short to take yourself too seriously! Silly poses with my silly Kate Spade ice cream truck clutch and popsicle coin purse. I bought this because when I was little I wanted to be a librarian and ice cream truck driver (kind of like a bookmobile with ice cream). Bonus fun is that my fellow doctor and officemate (we share an office) had also dressed in hot pink and black and white with mint purse today. Wow--great minds think alike! Anyone else ready for summer?

Guys, I have a guilty confession to make. This whole time I've been doing Handbag Challenge to wear all of my purses (originally I thought it would take a month, but now I'm into the third month!), I haven't felt like purging anything from my large purse collection. But this is the exception. I bought this Hermes Jypsiere and it was really amazing and I really loved it, but I just could never get myself to wear it because I felt really guilty about spending so much money on a purse and worried that people would see it and judge me and worried I would get the purse dirty or stained. Plus with paying taxes and other bills it was getting a bit tight financially. The purse, while lovely, was giving me negative vibes every time I thought about it. And to tell the truth, it wasn't very practical--it was a lot smaller than it looks because of the triangular shape so I couldn't fit much in it, and heavy with that big leather front flap, and kind of a pain to undo and redo the straps and metal clasp every time I wanted to get something out of the purse. It wasn't a good fit with my MOTG lifestyle.

I couldn't return it (Hermes doesn't allow refunds, only store credit within 30 days, but it had been longer than that and I had already used it). So I ended up selling it on a purse buy/sell/trade Facebook group. I lost money on it because it's used, but at least I got more than I would have if I used one of those consignment sites. So I can either feel bad about the money I lost/wasted by buying and selling it, or just be relieved that it's out of my life and that it's going to make someone else happy. I just sent it yesterday (still waiting for Paypal to release the money...they locked down my account because I've never had a large transaction like this, LOL).

I was hanging out on a handbag forum trying to learn more about these Hermes purses, but I really didn't feel connected to that group. It was like a whole different stratosphere of people with a whole closet full of Birkins and Kellys. Not really my tribe. And it was causing friction between me and DH too, and I really don't want stuff to come between our relationship. So I just let it go. And I'm using some of the money I made back from the sale to buy some large archival prints from a professional family photo shoot we did recently, so we can have some family portraits to hang in the house. I can enjoy those forever. And I do still have two orange purses (my MZ Wallace MOTG bag and Kate Spade orange slice bag) and plenty of other purses to keep me busy and happy!

I didn't actually wear this outfit (1-4) out of the house because I had already sold the purse and didn't dare risk damage to the bag, but this is the outfit I had envisioned with the scarf (which I still haven't ripped the tags off yet, what is wrong with me? I need to stop buying scarves!). I still have the wallet and bracelets too. Anyways, here are the three outfits I wore with the purse. I'm really at peace with this decision. See you later, Hermes. Maybe we'll meet again some other time!

Continuing on with my never-ending supply of cute kitschy purses. I'm starting to dig back into my old treasures like my Paul Frank collection. I used to collect Paul Frank and Gama-Go before I had kids. I remember those days of eBay bidding for some limited edition collaboration piece that I just had to have. The products are like a mixture of cute innocence and skater attitude and pop culture references. I also have a Paul Frank Lego suitcase (that the kids are currently using), Paul Frank Barbie, Paul Frank Hello Kitty, wallet with Julius as Elvis, etc. etc.

When the kids were babies I bought some Tokidoki x Jujube diaper bags. And now I've "graduated" to Kate Spade novelty clutches, which are just as cute and kitschy, but cost a lot more, LOL!

Anyways, I thought I'd show you the "best of" my Paul Frank collection first, and then see if you want to see any more of it? These are two Paul Frank x Shag limited edition purses. Julius in London and in Paris. (I just couldn't help myself with the thread title, LOL..but sorry, you are not going to see my underpants!). They still even have the tags on and are numbered and signed on the inside. They are going for hundreds of dollars on eBay. Sad that I just found out that Paul Frank left the company (http://www.vanityfair.com/news.....rank200609). So I guess I should hang on to my whole collection now? I know purses with these cartoon characters are somewhat juvenile--I had put them all away when I joined here, because my goal was to look stylish and professional. But as I'm getting older I am getting to the point where I'm starting to embrace my pre-YLF self again (yes, I've always loved prints and matchy matchy and whimsy). Life is too short to take yourself too seriously all the time, so why not have fun with fashion!

For the outfits, I went with the matching colors and jewelry to fit the locale. Specs for the British and pearls for Parisians. This striped dress is a cheapie from Amazon that has been making the rounds on a MD fashion board I belong to. It seems to look really good on everyone else, but I think it's not playing well with my food baby (2-3). I may have to get rid of this one before someone rubs my belly and asks when I'm due...gah!!!

Anyone else stocking up? Last time I tried these Target designer collections including Missoni and Jason Wu, a lot of stuff sold out immediately, so I'm ordering a bunch of different prints and sizes and will return whatever doesn't work out. I refuse to fight crowds in-store. I ordered some swimsuits and cover ups for me and DD, so maybe we can do a little matchy matchy at the pool this summer! And some tableware for home. I'm most interested to try those palazzo pants! Of course, this could all be a bust (I ordered stuff from the Altuzarra for Target and returned it all, it was really poor quality and fit), but I love Marimekko prints and I figure beachwear doesn't have to be the best quality.

I totally blame Angie and her Maximal Matchy Matchy thread she posted about the Banana Republic florals! I had already bought a bunch of matchy matchy floral items on sale at Kate Spade, but I couldn't resist trying out the Banana Republic florals as well--both prints to boot! Initially I was going to post a K/R on which of the three floral patterns to keep, Kate Spade hazy floral or the BR daisy floral or BR watercolor floral, but I couldn't bring myself to return any of them, so I kept them all! I'm justifying by saying the skirts are different silhouettes (A line midi, pencil, floaty pleated mini). OK I know it's a stretch, but I did wear them all! And in my defense, everything was on sale! I even have scarves in two of the patterns (no scarf available for the watercolor), but I couldn't quite work them in this time (I'm not really a scarf girl, I'm more into necklaces). Saving them though to extend the matchy matchy possibilities so I can wear the purses with other outfits.

And interestingly, I tried on the floral blazer and pants, but the pantsuit felt too masculine on me (haha, floral blazer too masculine?!) so that's why I stuck with the skirts. I don't know, I may decide to go back for the floral blazer after all. I used to wear a floral blazer all the time in 1985 with a big lace bow in my hair and long knotted pearl necklace (a la Madonna), so I may need another one in my life. I am still kicking myself that I didn't get the H&M one to match my floral pants, or the blue Zara floral blazer from a couple years ago.

My matchy matchy tendency combined with my maximal tendency of going overboard has resulted in another "anything worth doing is worth doing to excess" post. Pardon the plethora of pictures (do you like the alliteration in the title too?). I thought about making this into more than one post, but then where's the fun in that?! If it's maximal matchy matchy, then you need to see all three of these sets together! I'm all in for matchy matchy maximal mums (and other springtime florals)! Who's with me?!

People really get a kick out of seeing my handbag match my clothes. A cafeteria worker came up to me as I was carrying my tray in the hospital cafeteria and said "Excuse me!" I looked up, startled and concerned that somehow I had done something wrong, but then she said, "I just wanted to tell you that your outfit is so fabulous! You look amazing!" (28-32) Which of the shoe options do you like better, by the way? Turquoise pumps or orange loafers? I wore both. I'm really into swapping shoes for work to MOTG.

Another super fun thing about matchy matchy? Getting to do it with my mini-me! DD told me the other day, "We are the same. We both have black hair and glasses and we both like things to match." That day we had actually both worn purple and pink so we took a picture together (9). She's like my little twin! She is a little fashionista and does pattern mixing and matchy matchy like a pro. She doesn't let me dress her. She's much more stylish than I ever was at her age. It'll be fun to see how she dresses when she gets older! She's already planning to raid my closet...she's always commenting "Can I have that when I get older?" about the necklaces and purses and shoes that she likes. She's already called dibs on the butterfly necklace in 24 (lucky she's my only girl!). So I found a copycat Betsey Johnson like my Chanel silver boy bag for her. I had so much fun doing a mini-me three years ago when I got my other Chanel Ms. Scarlet and found her a Forever21 knockoff. We even had matching peplum stripe tops, floral pants and red ballet flats (8). Here's the prior post about it, fun to look back to the baby days!

I had initially worn it with my white purse, and we went out to dinner with the kids for Korean food in the city (I switched from the lace up flats to sneakers for MOTG because we were going to play at the park after dinner). Then I noticed that DD coincidentally had the same sort of floral skirt and silver sandals like my silver flats. So when we got home, she put on a denim jacket and we did a little matchy matchy mini me photo shoot. Super fun for both of us! She asked to try on my purse and shoes so I let her (5). Of course, it took a long time because the boys made it challenging to get a good shot, and DD also wanted in on the puppy pile (14-15), so I'm including the outtakes 10-15) because they are just too funny!

Thanks for sticking with me through the profusion of prose and photos! Having fun with fashion with my mini-me! Happy Spring!

Joy has requested to see the hedgehog purse--happen to have pics to share! Not sure how well this works with the loose over baggy, but trying Angie's ensemble with an unstructured shirt dress and cropped pants. With a gold hedgehog purse and gold boots to match. Another one of my cute tiny impractical Kate Spade clutches. Nothing fits in this thing! This one doesn't even fit my iPhone 6 Plus! Arggh! It was only $138 on clearance at the Kate Spade surprise sale (down from $398), but it was final sale, so I can't return. Not that I want to...DD is begging me to let her have it. I told her we can share! Maybe I should just think of this as a cosmetic case and toss it in my Longchamp tote. This is like the purse version of my 4 inch dragonfly heels. So entirely impractical, but so cute I can't get rid of it.

Una asked me to post my polar bear clutch. I have so many bags I've been working through them since February! I've given up trying to use a different one each day (too difficult), but my goal is still to get through all of them. Now I'm down to novelty clutches, which I'm finding are really challenging to use in real life! They're so cute, but so teeny! I ended up having to carry my normal sized white satchel for work and just used the clutch for going out to dinner. It held my phone (barely because I have an iPhone 6 plus), one car key on the keychain, and a popsicle coin purse with one credit card and my lipstick. That's it, and I could barely close it! But I went out to dinner with two other women doctors in my practice and they absolutely loved the clutch!

So, moral of the story is, I need to stop buying cute tiny purses. But I love them so much and Kate is making it so hard for me to resist! I still have a camera and ice cream truck to show you!

For the outfit, I really wanted to wear the tulle skirt with this grey sweater (see prior tulle skirt post) but I felt kind of ridiculous going to work in a tulle skirt (not that MOTG in a tulle skirt is any less ridiculous) so I went with white culottes instead, which kind of gave the same vibe. Will wear the tulle skirt next time! Also feeling a little worried that the grey sweater is too form fitting for my apple belly, but I'm never going to have the perfect body, so I'll settle for sucking it in a little for WIWs, LOL. I wore the Kate Spade "Clink of Ice" necklace which I also got on sale to match the polar bear ice theme. And of course the polar bear keychain and popsicle coin purse.

ETA: adding a few more fish and seahorse pics for Eliza and Joy! And my fuzzy polar bear for Rachy. I don't have any fish shaped coin purses, but I do have a fishbowl coin purse, does that count? I had to dig out my old Paul Frank and Gama-Go collection. I'm realizing now that Kate Spade is kind of like the grown up version of Paul Frank! Maybe I should start using some of those bags too? Think I can get away with it? I'll pull out a few and see what you think!

An R2D2 unit appeared and was promptly appropriated by a little Jawa named DS2. The owner of R2D2 tried in vain to recover the stolen droid, but the stubborn Jawa could not be bribed. The two older Jawas, DD and DS1, arrived and began fighting with the littlest scavenger for the rights to ownership. It was a very Hot Topic...the fighting was intense and tempers flew. The only solution was to bring in reinforcements. BB-8 and Captain Phasma arrived to save the day. Now each of the Jawas had their own personal unit. Peace was once again restored to the galaxy...at least until the next disturbance in the force erupts...

Thanks for looking and for indulging my geekiness! I bought the R2D2 Loungefly bag from Hot Topic after Una posted hers. And yes, I bought another two bags so that each of my kids could have their own! And matching wallets and coin purses to boot!

In my usual manner of over the top-ness, I have created an ensemble of outfits for both work and play using these three bags. I tried to make the work outfits echo the color and theme of the bags. Like cobalt, white and red for R2D2, black/white/silver and hard edge for Captain Phasma, and dusty brown leather and orange and sand for BB-8's home planet of Jakku. I managed to borrow these purses long enough to wear them for these outfits before they were claimed back by their owners. Yes, I did really wear these bags to the hospital! My patients loved them. I wore the work outfits three days in a row while I was on call. One of the patients loved seeing all three of them in succession and said it was the highlight of her day. And one elderly patient said on Easter Sunday, "Oh, I love your Easter bag. Is that an easter egg?" (BB-8). o_o Also pulled out the matching jewelry (Rebel Alliance vs. Vader) for the appropriate days. The Star Wars sweatshirt was reversible, so I got to wear it for two outfits (and I have the matching sweatpants, so I'm wearing them as pajamas as I type this...)

Bonus pics of us at the theater all watching The Force Awakens when it came out. We took our two year old despite DH thinking he was too young...but he wasn't scared at all! DH kept trying to cover DS2's eyes during the scary parts, but he kept batting DH's hand away so he could watch. All three kids are obsessed with Star Wars now. DS1's birthday party was a Lego Star Wars theme at a Lego play place. Three other kids in his class have also had Lego Star Wars birthdays in the last couple of months. Even DS2 can name all the characters. DS1 likes to draw TIE fighters, X wing fighters and the Millennium Falcon battling each other.

DS2 says he likes being a bad guy and says he is "Dark Bader." He takes his red light saber and chops DH's arm off, then his other arm off, then his leg, then his other leg. He is very thorough. DS1 wants to be Kylo Ren, which also does not bode well for DH's safety. DD wants to be Rey. DH is already working on his Halloween costume...he is making a TIE fighter pilot uniform from scratch. His usual time intensive hobby. He is starting now so he will be done by October. He has found and joined an online forum which details exactly what is needed to create a TIE fighter pilot uniform to spec...apparently if you don't get every detail right, you will not be accepted into the squadron. I can't believe he has found a group who is even more detail obsessed about costumes than he is! Nerds unite! I haven't decided yet who I will be...probably Princess Leia (not the Jabba slave version though...)

I know Angie's April Fool's post today about the Ultimate Power Suit was meant to be tongue in cheek, but I love that she listed everything needed to create this superhero ensemble down to the last detail. And what's more, I HAVE all of these items! Mini dress, check. Tights, check. Cape, check. Patent boots, check. Obi belt, check. Bulletproof cuff, check. Dark shades, check. So heck yeah, I'm doing it! Fantasy to reality! Feel like a superhero ready to kick some colon cancer @ss today! (PSA: If you're over 50 and haven't gotten your colonoscopy yet, do it!). Bonus pics of the Incredible family: Mr. Incredible, Elastigirl, Violet, Dash & baby Jack-Jack (shh, don't reveal our secret identities!). And one of my favorite scenes from the movie where Frozone is asking "Honey, where is my super suit? Where. Is. My. Super. Suit?!" My kids can quote this whole scene from memory! And Angie is our own Edna Mode...always wise and to the point. "I never look back, darling. It distracts from the now." Happy April Fool's Day, YLF!